Panacea for the Soul
by Arthur Hansen
Summary: Happenstance, chance or just luck... Taylor Hebert takes a different route home one winter afternoon from school and limps into the sights of Amy Dallon. Healing a sprained ankle wouldn't make a bit of difference, right?
1. Happenstance

Taylor was having another bad day. Emma, Sophia and Madison had all felt that things had 'cooled down' enough to start back up after her return to school. A broken pen that landed on her book to pour ink all over her history reading and notes. Then the cranberry juice in the restroom during lunch. And to top it off, Sophia had managed to sneak up behind her in the side stairwell and knock her down the last five steps. And she just laughed and got high-fived by her friends as she lay on the ground in pain while other students just ignored her or stepped around her.

Her wrist hurt and she was limping from her ankle turning badly as she tried to catch herself. The weather in Brockton Bay was decidedly cold and wet, with a cold drizzle coming down from the leaden sky. She was thinking about some of the things she had been learning about her new powers. They were still pretty icky and not exactly her first choice. Most of the bugs around right now were not very active either.

Taylor stopped at an intersection and almost turned onto her normal path home, but decided to turn to pass near a couple of empty fields. She wanted to pick up some more spiders to play with weaving with spider silk. Her slow pace made her almost regret the detour as she kept her hands jammed in her heavy jacket to try and ward off the cold.

"Come on, Amy. You need something to warm you up," a teenager was saying to the girl next to her as they both stepped out of nicer sedan. "Then we can visit that book store you mentioned."

"I suppose some caffeine now might help keep me awake. Vickie, I've just got so much jet lag from barely getting back from Australia," the darker haired Amy replied.

Something about them seemed ever so slightly odd to Taylor. Their clothing was nice, if not overtly expensive. They were both wearing coats with their hair pulled back in a way that wasn't the most flattering. But it was the large glasses that usually made kids their age think 'dork'.

Her distraction cost her as a burly guy in shabby work clothes exited the coffee shop she was in front of and bumped her. Normally, it would have not done anything at all, but her bad ankle twinged on a crack in Brockton Bay' always poorly maintained sidewalks. Down she went again, hitting her knee into a puddle and the hard cement under it.

"Sorry, miss," the man said, but didn't slow down as he had to take off at a jog as he spotted a bus headed around the corner. "Fuck! My bus!"

"Jerk!" Amy called out. "Are you alright?"

Taylor nodded.

"Come on," Vickie said as she flipped up the hood of her jacket.

"This won't take long. I think she's a little banged up. You know, being out in the cold on a turned ankle isn't doing you any favors. Come on, you can warm up for a minute in the Cally Coffee Shack here." The younger girl just started to pull Taylor to her feet and then pulled her into the warm and scented interior of the little java shop.

"Oh, geeze. Fine, if you are going to do a charity case I'm going to get myself some carrot cake," Vickie said with a wrinkled nose.

"That's my choice." Amy set her at a round table in the corner away from the entrance.

"You don't have to do this. I'll be fine," Taylor said, her stubbornness and pride vying for the relief from her pain.

"You'll feel better, I promise. I'm Amy. You know, some coffee or hot cocoa might be just what you need." She shed her coat and set it on the chair next to the other girl.

"Um, I'm Taylor. I have some money for hot chocolate, I guess." Her dad had given it to her yesterday, even with money being a bit tight.

"Don't worry, Taylor." Amy headed up to the cashier to get their drinks. Amy's friend seemed to be engrossed in talking to the young server. Amy actually had to be rude for a moment to get him to ring her up. As she came back, she shook her head. "I think he's the reason we ended up here. My sister seems to have found another boy to wrap around her pinkie."

"Boy crazy, I take it?" Taylor was a bit timid, but this was kind of fun.

"To say the least. It's her way of coping, I guess." Amy set her coffee down and then placed the hot chocolate down and 'accidentally' brushed her hand against Taylor's clammy wrist.

So the jerk of her hand away and hunch of Taylor's shoulder was a surprise.

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." Amy's eyes were studying her closely. "You aren't being abused at home, are you?" That was more bruises than she had been expecting to find.

"No! My dad wouldn't ever do that. I mean ever. He might have a temper, but he would never strike me in anger." Taylor was starting to breath faster. She needed to take control and not show how thin her veneer of control really was.

"Oh." Amy thought over that. She could just heal her a little bit, but this Taylor looked like she could use a friend. She normally didn't like to use her fame, but it did have its uses. "So, from the bruises, I take it you are being bullied at school?"

Taylors eyes were blinking rapidly. "How- What are you talking about?" Her shoulder had suddenly tensed right back up.

The other girl took off her 'celebrity shades'. "Well, my power told me you have a lot of small bruises to go with your turned ankle. And, well, you flinched."

"You're Panacea?" Taylor blurted out in a quiet panic.

Amy's face showed her discomfort with that. "Guilty. You know, I can fix that right up, but I think you need someone to talk to." She started to pat around in her pocket, then pulled out a business card. "I need to get a couple more of these. This is a helpline for people in trouble. And if you really need someone to talk to, you can email this address." She scribbled an email on the back. It was one that was monitored by a fairly advanced security service.

Taylor picked up the card like it was a figurine made of fragile, expensive blown glass. "Um, thanks." Oh. She felt so stupid. Panacea must have helped heal people after that Endbringer attack in Australia about a week ago.

A soft touch on her hand as almost all of her pains were washed away. Then Amy took a long sip of her hot coffee, relishing the taste of the expensive, imported beans. "Well, I need to get going. Mom gets a bit upset if we don't get home on time, even if we do call."

"It was... really nice to meet you, Amy." Taylor smiled at that, hating that it felt so hollow and fake. But it also felt more real than any smile she had made in weeks.

* * *

Taylor finished patting her hair dry as she stepped into her bedroom and started to change. It was her one feminine vanity and she was not going to lose it either. Of course, today had been a pretty bad day. She had been using that suicide help line (though it wasn't called that). It was surprising how just having someone, even someone paid or a part time volunteer, just listen and try to give encouragement had made a difference.

Sophia and Emma seemed surprised at her backbone. She didn't strike back, but she also not backed all the way down.

Still, school was still big time sucking. Teachers ignored the problem because Emma's father was a big name lawyer and she was a budding model. And then Sophia was the resident track star. Their last friend, Madison, was the too cute girl that looked ever so innocent. Taylor yawned, wishing she had slept better last night, but she had stayed up late last night redoing some homework that the girls had trashed. She would have to try and hand it in early tomorrow.

The teen was out of the house shortly afterwards and hopping a bus to the library in the light drizzle. It turned to sunshine as she was getting off, making everything look just washed.

Taylor had a couple of books on insects and invertebrates to return. Then she stood in line to get a computer for a bit. One homework English assignment was sent to the teacher and then she checked her free email account. Mostly spam, but she actually had a response from Amy.

They had been emailing back and forth for about three weeks. Amy had actually been surprised to find out Taylor liked insects. Though she had to be quite up front that she was not into hurting them or anything. Taylor had found out that Amy was into reading, as she wasn't very athletic. Fantasy, science fiction, romances. More romances than the other, actually.

Well, it shouldn't hurt to slip in a few questions.

-{}-

To:

From: taylor55

Subject: Thanks for answering.

I had to call that help line again yesterday. The lady at Get Help Line said that I should talk to people that can relate and that I can trust. Which isn't a lot of people. Dad tries, but he's working a lot of the time.

So now I'm not stuck in a downward spiral quite as bad, even with the terrible trio at school. And I've been reading up on insects. They are a lot more interesting than you would think. Spider silk looks like it would make a really strong cloth, almost like armor.

I've started to try to run a bit further every day. I thought I was in okay shape before, but I'm a quivering wreck after just two miles

So did you have to go through some training on how to use your powers? Or help in figuring out what you can all do? Is there like a special group in the PRT that helps new capes?

I'm being silly, you probably had your family and they know people.

What are you reading today? I bet its another Harlequin.

Your friend,

Taylor Hebert

-{}-

It looked okay to her, so she sent it off. And logging off her accounts so she could go check out another book or two. There was a really in depth book on spider she wanted to try and read.

Maybe she should get a soda on the way home. Some caffeine might help perk her up for supper in... half an hour? Her dad was going to be upset again. And start treating her like she was made of glass. She had her new book that she would only read at home and was running for the bus.

* * *

Amy had finished her homework already. Just another day at Arcadia High. She turned her writing program off and did a last check of emails on her notebook before bed. Almost nothing except for a request to help a local cape that had gotten scrapped up. If she did not, he would be off duty for a week, but it was not really serious.

But since they asked and it was not critical, she turned it down flat. Maybe if he lived with his pain for a week he wouldn't go and get himself hurt again as quickly.

Her semi-public New Wave email showed a few messages. She smiled at the thank you she got from the little girl she helped with her Leukemia. Patty was going to go back to school on Monday.

A short email from Taylor from the library again. (That had sort of shown that Taylor didn't use a computer at home. Or didn't have one at home.)

That got her eyebrows raised. A little more disjointed than normal. Must have been tired.

Amy started to type in her response, even putting in the name of her current romance novel. Then she stopped as she reread part of Taylor's questions.

Why was Taylor asking about how she learned to use her powers? Or who she talked to about using them? Most people were far more interested what she could use her power for. From saving lives to cosmetic surgery to just removing some pain. Not how she had figured out how to use them after triggering.

It nagged her, so she saved the email without sending it.

The epiphany hit her as she was drifting off to sleep fifteen minutes later. Normal people would not be interested how she learned to use them. They'd be focused on her healing itself.

A cape that had just triggered though would be interested. And her interest in insects, it wasn't how they were neat (in a totally gross way) but that they did neat things. Like spin silk. Or how far they can fly or jump. How fast they were.

Like how you would use them. If you happened to be able to use them. Or control them.

"Well, shit."


	2. Unmasking

After a sleepless night, Amy dragged herself out of bed too early. Her shower made her mostly human. Almost. She rummaged around in her room for her secure computer paid. She sent her first period teacher a message that she would be late. She stepped out into the hallway in full costume, only to run into her first obstacle which was a note on Victoria's door.

Late night fight with ABB. Do not wake before ten o'clock upon pain of death.

Panacea's shoulders' slumped. No Glory Girl airways (as her sister sometimes complained and called it). She juggled things in her head. Mom and Dad were both doing things this morning.

So change in plan. Ten minutes back in her room and she reappeared in civilian clothes, her celebrity shades perched on top of her head. She should be able to catch the two busses that would take her right to Winslow High. Should even still make it before the school bell.

It was shaping up to be a very pleasant day, with the sun rising. It was pretty warm and the earliest of buds and sprouts were showing even as the grass started to turn green. You could even see the bugs out, as the last rain had really kick started spring.

As she stepped off the city bus in the middle of a gaggle of teens all arriving before class, she was effectively invisible. Some people noticed her, but it seemed because of her new coat. She looked slightly better off than pretty much everyone there except from some of the center of clumps. Amy tilted her head. Wasn't that girl a teen model? She was surprised she did not go to Arcadia. The young cape looked around. That was the direction of the coffee shop? So if Taylor had been headed home from school, she would likely be coming from that way then.

Amy's face grew a smile. There she was, coming down the block all by herself with her books held up to her chest. She almost trotted over to the girl at the edge of the grounds. "Taylor? Can I talk for a minute?"

The other girl blinked behind her glasses. "Um, Amy? You came here to talk to me? I, uh, just expected you to email me back or something. Like last time."

"Come on, over here," Amy said as she led the bemused girl out of the lines of teens headed into school.

Taylor's mind was in overdrive as she thought about the email she sent yesterday. It felt like a pit opened under her in the pit of her stomach. She abruptly had a very good idea of what brought her. She was so stupid.

"So those girls are still causing a problem?" the visitor asked.

Taylor nodded, her face pale. Panacea was not likely to attack her, of course. But that doesn't mean she might not need a distraction. She started to gather insects.

Amy realized the poor girl might be closer to the edge than she thought. "So, um, is it hard to not lash out at them?"

She knew. "I wouldn't! Not only is it wrong, but I'd just get thrown in prison!" Panic was creeping up into her voice.

The petite Madison always seemed to notice what Taylor was doing. "Taylor got a new friend? I thought people were smarter than that."

Emma shifted her backpack slightly. "I don't recognize her." That long coat was a bit unusual for Winslow.

The last member of their trio looked over and then away. Then back again. Was that Panacea? Talking to Taylor? "Emma? This might be a problem." She leaned closer to her friend. "I think that's Panacea. Only reason I could think of her to be here and talking to Taylor is if someone narked me out to Piggy. That's bullshit." The shock and moment of fear was being replaced by panic that grew into fury. Adrenaline flooded into her bloodstream.

"Not even lice? I mean, that's just like a bad prank?" Amy continued on with Taylor.

Taylor shook her head. "If it got out, Emma's dad is a lawyer. I'm pretty sure he got the locker incident hushed up. So I can't. Even if they deserve it and more. Besides, it's wrong. I'm pretty sure I already said that." And she would break her dad's heart. She was not speaking too clearly, she realized.

"The locker incident? What happened?" the slightly shorter girl asked.

"Oh. Yeah. You weren't here-" Her face showed how much disgust she felt for the event. "It was just after Christmas break. They must have raided the girl locker room bins before break. Tampons and pads were all over inside. It was really nasty. I could smell it, but I had to know how bad. So I opened the locker, then leaned over to puke. All I heard was laughter then I was shoved into the locker by my hair. Probably by Sophia. She's usually the one to push me or trip me. They locked me in there and no one came for me for hours. Everyone who saw it just ignored it."

"God damn," Amy said, her eyes wide. She was not one to really swear. She saw a trio of girls breaking from the meandering crowd outside in the cool sunshine, but she was too focused on the girl.

"I kind of lost it in there. I don't know how long I was in there with my vomit and the smells, but when I came out I was incoherent and attacking anything that moved. I don't remember a lot, there was too much new stuff from all these things I could feel," Taylor continued in a low voice. She felt a bit of that panic again, feeling trapped and stuck. But it was not like she could run or anything.

"That's got to be criminal-" Amy was saying.

Sophia's fist seemed to come out of nowhere to slam into Amy's jaw. "Why are you here? Did Piggot sic you on me? Answer me, bitch! Did she sell me out?" Sophia was nearly screaming at the girl as she started to kick the threat as she curled up defensively on the ground. It was all going good and she was going to ruin it! This girl from New Wave, that could not even fight, was going to ruin it. "Did she tell you that she suspected me behind behind Taylor's little accident?"

"-schtop-" Amy managed to get out between kicks. She had been totally unready for such a brutal attack and going into shock from her broken jaw.

Emma and Madison had grabbed the shocked Taylor. A Taylor that was having a hard time reacting. One moment she had been spilling her deepest and most horrible secret and then the next moment sudden and abrupt violence.

"Is she trying to get me kicked off the Wards? I'm following her damn rules! Deals fucking off!" Sophia continued to rant as she the downed girl, being deflected from connecting to Amy's head by her arms.

Taylor's world suddenly latched onto what Sophia was saying. Wards? The Wards?

"Don't think of doing anything heroic," Emma warned her one time friend now favorite target to torment and torture.

Madison, the smallest girl, was starting to get a bad feeling. It was like a noise that was growing louder- No, that was a buzz that was filling the air.

"You're a cape," Taylor said in wonder.

Sophia spun around. "So what's it to you, bitch? That doesn't change anything. You are still a goddamn fucking loser!"

"Capes can fight capes." Taylor had a small smile on her face now. "And defend themselves from capes."

And bugs descended in huge number from all directions.

"What the hell?" The deranged psychotic was not expecting this. Flies? What was that all crawling towards them on the ground? It looked like the a wave of grain heading towards them in a shrinking ring.

Screams broke out from the students in the front quad of the high school as tens of thousands of insects swarmed out of everywhere. Emma and Madison shrieked as their faces were covered with bugs. Taylor did not even have to have them sting or bite them to have them let her go.

But her focus was on the last member of the trio who was covered in biting bugs. It was only for a second, then Sophia poofed out in shadowy darkness.

"Bug girl. They can't hurt me. But I can hurt you," the maddened cape shouted. She stepped right through the bug cloud and reformed long enough to punch Taylor in the face hard enough to shatter her glasses.

That should be enough to disrupt her concentration-

A larger stream of bugs pushed the nearly immaterial shadow-girl back five steps.

"What the hell is this? Fucking bugs aren't going to stop me, Taylor. I'm going to enjoy pounding your damn face in," she shouted out. She ran forwards fast, trying to ignore the bugs.

All of the bugs collapsed back inwards towards Taylor at the center as she tried to focus on the blurry figure charging her. She realized, in the back of her head, that she could sense where everyone else was because of all the insects

Sophia was finding it hard to re-materialize even as she pulled out her illegal knife. She felt herself on the cusp and then stabbed forward. The blade sliced across Taylor's stomach in an almost invisible cut. Almost instantly, she dematerialized even as the other girl staggered backwards and fell to the ground.

But only almost instantly. For one second, she was solid and every single stinging and biting insect attacked. With a shriek, she dropped her knife as she tried wipe the insects away from her face even as she went immaterial.

Her face and arms burned. Luckily, when she was in this form, she did not breath and her heart didn't pump. She knew she needed to get somewhere where she could get patched up. "I hope you fucking bleed to death, cunt," she said to Taylor as she watched the red stain spread out across her stomach.

Taylor just glared back as she tried to get back to her feet. "I'm not the psycho that lost it and attacked a known hero, Shadow Stalker."

"God damned bitch." Sophia spun around. Amy Dillon was laying on the ground, not moving and eyes closed. She trotted over the ten feet, shedding the cloud of insects that tried to keep up. She materialized for one second to kick the downed girl one last time.

The brunette on the ground reached out to grab the leg for that second. The moment she had physical contact, she 'dozed' her by adjusting her metabolism as if she had been drugged. It was a little dangerous, but it was either this or instantly paralyze her which had a higher chance to kill her.

Sophie collapsed like a puppet with her strings cut.

"Ow. Mah jah-" Amy complained, then stopped trying to talk. It hurt too much. She pulled out her phone and changed the alert from 'under villain attack' to 'after fight, injured'. The rest of New Wave should show up very quickly from her emergency alert. "Jhayloh?" Damn that hurt.

"I'm bleeding," the other girl said in a panic.

That was an awful lot of blood there, Amy realized. She managed to drag herself over and stop the worst of the bleeding, but she really needed someone to take a look at herself before she tried to do much. She lay on the grass next to Taylor and was never more happy to see streaks of light flying through the air.


	3. Fallout

Taylor stared at the glowing figures that landed in a short semi-circle and deposited the non-flyers.

Lady Photon and Manpower, the mom and dad of the flying blaster brigade kids, Laserdream and Shielder. Everyone was wearing far too much white. (How did they keep it all clean?)

Then there was Flashbang and Brandish, the father and mother of Glory Girl, who was actually carrying them both.

"Amy! What happened?" the mother asked as she knelt next to her adoptive daughter.

"Mah jah," the mousey girl managed to say.

"New Wave," Taylor said. It was one thing to know one of them, but all of them? "Oh, wow."

"So what happened? And why is that girl covered in bites? Who hurt my little girl?" the woman in white and orange with crossed swords on her chest demanded.

"Sophia punched her and started screaming about Piggot or something and breaking their deal. That's sort of when I figured out she was in the Wards, so I could use my bugs to defends us. She kicked the crap out of us and then Amy knocked her out." Taylor blinked and squinted, trying to look at Sophia. "What's that noise she is making?" Damn her nearsightedness.

"She's choking," Lady Photon said as she leaned down and checked the girl. "She must be going into shock from all the stings."

Amy waved her right hand gesturing to have them bring her over, but did not say anything. It took a few moments, of touching the girl when she was brought over to her reach. The unconscious girl started breathing easier. Amy just returned her hand to her jaw. She hated hospitals when she was a patient.

Manpower was looking at the skinny girl with bruises on her face. She was still holding her stomach. "So you can control bugs? Did you have them bite anyone else?" None of the other kids were doing anything other than staying a small distance away.

"No bites at all. I only covered Emma and Madison's face to get them to let go of me. I didn't have any others even touch anyone else. I have pretty good control, I think, but I'm still figuring out what I can do." She grimaced as her stomach let her know it really hurt still.

"You can control them that well?" the father said in surprise.

"Oh, sure. Pretty much anything I want them to." She had the insects left over land and make a ten foot wide smiley face on the grass just in front of the group. "See?"

Laserdream and Shielder shared a surprised glance with each other. "Got to be at least Master 4 with that level of control," the older girl said.

"Um, I guess. So what happens now?" Taylor asked.

"Hospital time for everyone. The police and the PRT should be on the way to investigate and take statements," Brandish said. "Manpower? Lady Photon? Can your family take over the scene and dealing with the cops. Make sure they arrest that girl on assault charges. And let the PRT know that we are at the hospital getting our daughter checked out?"

"I think it would be better if I or Laserdream should go with Glory Girl and the two injured people to the hospital. They can come back for you on a second trip," 'Photon Mom' said to her friend.

"Does she need to go to the hospital, too?" Flashbang asked of his daughter. "Anaphylactic shock is not something to down play."

Amy shook her head, then managed to groan while still holding her jaw.

"Okay, sis. Time for Glory Girl airways." Her picturesque sibling picked her up carefully and then shot into the air.

"Okay, miss-" Lady Photon stopped for a second.

"Taylor," the younger girl blurted out.

"Miss Taylor, I'm going to pick you up and fly you to the hospital. Okay?" With that, she carefully picked up the fifteen year old, her back protesting a bit. She was getting too old for this.

"Sure. More than okay."

With that, they streaked off into the air.

* * *

Director Piggot was sipping her coffee as she read a very dry fiscal report. Kid Win's expenses were a bit higher this month, but that was balanced by that new upgrade that Armsmaster made to the containment rifles. So headquarters was paying them a 'bonus' for that. That almost got them out of the red this month for their budget according to the last spreadsheet she was working with. Her phone rang once and she grabbed it immediately.

"Piggot here," she said in a simple, bored manner.

"Director, we have a situation at Winslow High. It looks pretty bad. New Wave showed up enmass. I've got reports of two villains attacking the school, the students and all of New Wave. But I think it was just one fight with Panacea and Shadow Stalker involved. Reports are... sketchy."

"So why aren't you asking Shadow Stalker these questions?"

"New Wave is saying that she assaulted Panacea in broad daylight in her civilian ID and is pressing for her to be arrested. Oh, and she's not conscious. Knew she had a few screws loose, didn't think she was that twitchy," her assistant responded.

"Just to make sure, Shadow Stalker was the instigator? She wasn't pushed or anything into it?" Piggot could just about feel her blood pressure start to rise.

"Someone said she just walked up and slugged her hard, so nothing that I can see that would set her off. But we need to get all the witnesses statements. Two girls were admitted to St. Josephines with bruises and a cut."

"Get me Armsmaster and Miss Militia. I wants Shadow Stalker's records on my desk five minutes ago and I want to know _what the hell is going on at Winslow_. Yesterday." Piggot barely raised her voice, but it was probably worse for that.

Twenty fairly frantic minutes as the two capes arrived. Facts started to arrive slowly as the plainclothes investigators talked through the students. And it started to paint an ugly picture. The noon meeting with Piggot looked to be grimly unpleasant for those reporting.

Briefing Room #3 was plain, with a longer table than the other PRT conference rooms. The whiteboard at the end of the room was filled with a timeline that looked to be rewritten several times.

Captain Charlie Thurm nodded to the last investigator that sneaked into the room. "All right, that's the last person. Director Piggot, I'll just be up front. I think we screwed up."

"How about some specifics on what, where, who and when, Captain Thurm?" the stout woman said as she tapped her left hand on the table next to her.

"We missed some cues for months. Little things that we didn't think were important. The first is that Miss Hess has been dragging her feet to move from her old high school. We think she flubbed some tests to make sure her grades were just a little too low and she happened to miss some crucial meetings that would have helped her get transferred to Arcadia High with the other Wards. The reasons seem to be friends and a long time bullying campaign against different students." He pointed a clicker as the projector and several faces appeared, along with a fuzzy picture of a girl with glasses. "Sophia was leading a pair of girl in what could be only be seen as deliberately cruel actions. Especially against this girl with the glasses. Her name is Taylor Hebert. We have patchy reports at the school that point to the fact she may have been being bullied for almost fifteen months."

"How could this have been allowed to happen?" Miss Militia asked, her voice flavored with disgust.

"Winslow is a trouble magnet school. Most kids there either end up working low end manual labor jobs or end up in gangs. We think her bullying reached a point that we should have interceded in January when she sent Taylor here to the hospital in hysterics. We had put it down an overly dramatic girl, seeking attention." He gave his boss and helpless shrug. "She probably was in a fragile state, but that was because of a years worth of bullying that led up to being stuffed in a locker for hours. A locker that had been filled with incredibly disgusting garbage. She probably triggered there."

"The police should have been called in," Armsmaster stated. What little bit of his lower face you could see showed that he was not very happy at all.

"A detective was, but he was easy for the school officials to convince that there wasn't a case. No witnesses and the victim never saw her attacker. That was roughly two months ago. The Hebert's were paid off for an out of court settlement and she returns to school where her bullies were still waiting. Then we get to today."

"What did happen today, Thurm?" Piggot asked.

"Panacea had somehow become aware of Taylor Hebert's situation. She approached the girl before school to talk to her. We haven't been allowed to talk to Miss Dillon. She's got a badly hurt jaw and can't really talk. But there are reports that Sophia recognized Panacea. She then walked over, punched her in the jaw and started beating on her all the while ranting about you breaking the deal. Might have had a paranoid freakout about us finding out what really happened with the locker incident."

"I might have possibly made things worse," the leader of the Brockton Protectorates explained somberely. "She seriously injured an ABB thug a few days ago and I felt I had to come down hard on her. She only used her tranquilizer darts, but she cut a fairly large vein in his leg. He almost bled out on site."

"I agreed with your reasoning, Armsmaster. She pushes against her restrictions," Miss Militia countered.

"And why didn't our psychiatrist catch her budding psychosis? I mean, what are we paying them for?" Piggot asked as she clenched her fist on top of the table.

"Things have been messed up over in that department ever since Farashdemon decided to hit our people at home so she could suicide by cop. Abigail was one of the first people killed before we figured out she was going down a list alphabetically by first name. Then we had a high amount of turnover, trying to find someone with the right skills and clearance," the captain of the PRT explained.

"Back on track. So Sophia goes nuts and starts attacking a Very Important Person. Then what happened?" Piggot asked.

"Taylor happened. Reports say she can control bugs. Scared off the flunkies and tried to take Sophia down with stinging insects. That didn't work too well, as Sophia broke her glasses and then tried her best to gut her with a knife. It was a crude, homemade knife and four inches long. Sophia left her bleeding out, kicked Amy one last time and the Amy put her to sleep. New Wave showed up about two minutes later," the officer finished up.

"Well, that's a nice pile of manure we have to turn into flowers," Piggot said. "First thing, we are softballing this one. We need to keep the PR backlash down to the minimum. Senator Larson is fighting to keep our national funds from being cut down in D.C. We need to make sure that the Dallons realize that we really appreciate what her daughter did and that we are _horrified_ that this happened. Bend over backwards on that, Armsmaster. Miss Militia, I want you to approach the Heberts and Taylor in specific. See if she's at all open to joining the Wards. Spell out the benefits to working with us. Familial protection, covering medical expenses and the works. We are going to try and do right with this girl."

Both of the Protectorates nodded at that.

"Alicia? Can I get you started on talking to our friends in the media? We can't shut this down with how public this is, but try to get them to soften things. I'm sure Arnold Persi at the Gazette is just salivating at the chance to go on another anti-Parahuman rant. See what you can do to get someone more sympathetic on it. Got it?"

"We aren't trying to protect her, are we?" Thurm asked in disgust.

"No, Sophia Hess has burned that bridge with napalm and that knife definitely breaks her probation. So she's going to land in Juvie so fast that they'll think Alexandria dropped her off. What I don't want to see is her case and these new charges anywhere near the front page. Or I will have some heads rolling." Piggot looked back and forth among. "Let's get to it, people."


	4. Decisions

"You are going to have a bit of a scar, I'm afraid, Miss Hebert. But that's all you are going to have to worry about. And with the right plastic surgeon, they can make that almost invisible," the doctor said with a careful smile on her face. "We did have one area that we had to sew the inner lining of your abdomen. So no sitting up without any assistance. If it ruptures, you set back your recover weeks."

"Weeks? How long am I going be here?" Taylor asked as she squinted just a little bit.

"Just a few weeks. You might be one of those lucky capes that has a bit of fast healing or don't scar anyways. And as a friend of Miss Dallon, don't worry a bit about the bill. Panacea has save so many lives here that we couldn't even think of charging her. Or someone like you that was willing to step in to try and save her," Dr. Sara Montessi explained.

"And she's really okay?" the teen asked.

"She's just banged up a little bit. The only really worrying thing was the damage to her jaw. And it was only a dislocation. Lots of soft tissue damage and it's bruising up, but she'll be fine in a few days. In fact, she can go home tomorrow," the doctor said. She really liked this girl.

"Oh, should I try help out a little bit? I'm pretty sure I could clear out all of the insects within my range and tell them to stay out," Taylor offered.

"If you can do it flat on your back, sure. If you can figure out where the dumpster is out back of this section, just have them gather up there."

Taylor expanded her control over insects. "Oh, I think I've got the location. Should I wait until tonight to march them out?"

Sara blinked. "Yes. I'll send a memo out to everyone that you are cleaning them out."

"And here she is, the hero of the hour, Amy," a male voice send. It was Manpower, the electromagnetic hero and father of half of New Wave. Behind her stood Brandish and Glory Girl, hovering over her protectively.

Next to him in a wheelchair was Amy who was fighting to not smile because it would hurt more. She waved over to the injured girl as she rolled over. She pulled out a computer tablet and wrote on its screen. 'Hi!'

"Sorry that I made things so bad," Taylor said sincerely. "And I blew my identity for nothing."

"You stood up to that bitch-"

"Glory Girl, language," her mother admonished.

"-witch and forced her to show that she was a bully. I can't see here staying in the Wards now. I always knew she had a screw loose."

Amy held up her tablet's screen to Taylor. 'No she didn't.'

Taylor squinted a little bit as she tried to make out the writing.

The other girl reached out and then stopped herself. She handed the tablet over and then took it back as Taylor giggled. A giggle that she stifled with a groan of pain.

"What was that?" Taylor asked then. "You looked like you were about to touch me."

"I've got it, Amy. The doctor gave a recommendation that she's to not use her power to heal anyone for the next week or so while she's on pain killers," Brandish explained for her adoptive daughter. "So no fixing people's eyes so you can see her tablet."

Amy made a hmming noise that seemed to be agreement. She didn't seem terribly happy.

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure dad and I can get a new pair of glasses. Oh, Dr. Montessi? I thought you said my dad was going to be right up?" Taylor tried to lean forwards slightly to look through the door, even if it was far out of her angle of view.

"He was. I can try to go track him down, if you like?" the doctor asked.

"He's talking to Miss Militia," Manpower said from where he leaned against the door jam.

Taylor stared at him as the shock jolted her. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"I can't really see how. You were trying to defend my daughter as she was being assaulted. They are probably just here to recruit you for the Wards," Bandish explained even as she hugged Amy from behind.

"They had Sophia on their team. I'm not in any rush to go joining that," the bedridden girl said in a defiant tone of voice.

"You don't have to, but you are going to have problems if you don't," the male hero said.

"Yeah. And Gallant was pretty cool when I was talking to him last night with that ABB ruckus last night," Glory Girl said brightly.

Amy just rolled her eyes.

"I'd join you guys instead of any team that allowed Sophia on it," Taylor said, her whole posture evident with how tense her shoulders had become.

Manpower and Brandish looked over at each other. Manpower gave a subtle nod.

"Well, I can't speak for the others, but I'd be quite happy to have a new, non-family member in the team," Brandish said with a large smile.

"Really?" Taylor and Glory Girl both blurted out, though Amy looked just as shocked.

This sort of thing just had not happened to the New Wave. Ever.

"It doesn't come with most of the same perks, but we do have some benefits. And we work with the Protectorate and the authorities most of the time," Manpower explained. "Brandish here is a lawyer and can help with a lot of the legalities."

Just a moment afterwards Danny Hebert and Miss Militia came into the very crowded hospital room. They were lucky the other bed was not occupied.

"Taylor! Sorry I got waylaid and wasn't here after they finished patching you up," her father said as he pushed through the crowd of heroes and carefully hugged her as if she was the most precious and delicate thing in the world.

"I'll be fine. I'll be even better once I finish this armor I'm working on. I'm almost figured out how to get spider silk weave to work," she explained as she hugged him back.

"You mean- You were planning on being a hero already?" Danny asked in surprise.

"It- It was the only thing that kept me going some days, Dad. To be like Alexandria. I just hadn't finished getting ready." She gave him a shrug.

"I think that's my cue. I've been talking to your father about getting you into the Wards, where you can be protected and learn how to be a hero and part of a team," Miss Militia said.

"About that? I sort of already joined the New Wave here?" Taylor said as she tried to explain her reasons.

"We called dibs," Glory Girl called out in a excited voice.

"New Wave? Well, that's surprising. We aren't going to force you, of course, but I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. We needed another girl on the team," Miss Militia said even as she chuckled.

"Not on a team that had Sophia. Never," Taylor said firmly.

"She's off the team and probably headed to juvenile detention," Miss Militia said, trying to defend the Wards.

"I bet they knew what she was like. And didn't put a stop to it." Taylor had a very mulish look on her face.

"I can't say I agree, but I can understand why you might have problems. You should meet them sometimes. They aren't at all like Sophia."

Danny actually glared at the heroine. _"All it takes for evil to flourish is for a good man to do nothing,"_ he quoted.

That seemed to actually affect her. Miss Militia nodded. "I should head out."


	5. Healing and Wounds

Taylor was reading a book, almost bored out of her mind. She was physically tired, but she wanted to do something. But she would not be allowed to go home for another few days. So hospital bed it was.

So the arrival of two girls wearing large sunglasses inside was a welcome relief. "Amy? Victoria? Nice to see you again."

"I've got a great list of names for bugs and things that we can go over here. We need to get you a good name before the press settles on something," Victoria said, holding up a computer tablet with text on its screen.

"There's no way she'll accept Grub as a name," her mousey sister said. "Hey, Taylor? Ready to get out of here?" She had this amazing bruise on her jaw that even makeup did not fully cover up. It was blotches of deep purple.

"Um, sure?"

Amy put her hand on the other girl's shoulder, healing her injuries within just a minute. "Probably should remove the stitches before we leave."

"Did you read all of these?" Victoria asked in a disbelieving tone. There was a stack of six novels on the stand next to Taylor's bed. Plus the one in her hand.

"Sure. I haven't had anything else to do. Even playing with my insects is pretty dull," the bespectacled girl said. Her optometrist had sent her a new pair over a few days ago, free of charge with the only caveat of 'if they ask, tell them where you bought it'. They were the fancier sort of frames with higher quality lens with most of the film options.

The last time Taylor had her glasses replaced, they had taken almost two weeks to get her basic prescription filled. This time they had given them to her just two days after hers had been broken. Ass-kissers.

"These are different books from yesterday," the blonde noted suddenly. She looked at the mostly finished book on Taylor's lap. "Seven books by three o'clock in the afternoon? That's... probably not normal is it?"

Amy blinked in surprise. She almost blurted out that she could feel that Taylor's brain was doing some sort of two-way link to her bugs. "Say, Taylor? Do you have any bugs here? I want to check something out."

"Just the ones in that box working on spinning spider-silk. I still haven't quite got that down." She nodded to a shoebox with holes punched in the side. It started to 'bleed' a couple of dozen spiders that dropped to the ground and then very rapidly climbed onto the hospital bed. "Why?" She had one spider walk onto her finger to hand over to Amy.

With a momentary pause, the bio-manipulator held out her hand so the spider could jump on it. Amy started to frown. "You aren't just controlling them, are you? You can actually get a feeling for where they are?"

"Sort of. I always know there are bugs and roughly where they are," the insect master replied. She started to poke her stomach. That was oh, so much better.

"Yay, bugs. So how many are there in this room?" Victoria asked. She had never liked bugs as a kid.

"One-hundred and fifty three."

That was very specific, both girls noted.

"And how many in range of your power?" she then asked Taylor.

Amy was listening with half an ear as she played with the bug. Normally, she would not have even thought of trying this.

"Oh, forty-one thousand, three hundred and two. Why?"

That got Amy to look up from the spider. "Thinker?"

"Has to be," Victoria said in agreement, a frown on her face. "What sort of commands could you give them? Do you have to tell them all to do the same thing?"

Taylor shook her head as she controlled the other spiders back into their box. "No, I can tell them all to do their own thing so I can control where they crawl. Don't want them going where I don't want them to. "

"And that's because she's co-opting each bugs's brain to connect to her own. So the more bugs she has around her that she's connected to, the more bugs she can control. She can't overload her own brain. That's... a really weird type of Thinker power. Must help her read a little bit though." Amy prodded at the part of the spider's brain that did the connecting.

Taylor suddenly grabbed the sheets on her bed as if she was trying to keep herself steady. "Woozy and getting a headache all of a sudden."

"Sorry." The other brunette fiddled with that spider back to its more normal state. "Better?"

The other girl was staring at her in wide-eyed shock. "Please don't do that again."

"I said I was sorry," Amy said, trying to hide her discomfort.

"No, no. You are fine, its just that it was kind of messing me up. I wonder if anyone else can do that to me? I'm not going to be a very good hero if everyone can disable me that easily," Taylor said a bit morosely.

"Amy is one of the powerful healers around. So the chances that someone can do that to you are pretty unlikely. We just need to make sure you don't go getting stabbed again," the taller, blonde girl said with a smirk on her features.

"That's what the spiders in the box are for." Taylor leaned forward and opened the box. "See? Spider silk cloth. Only a couple of inches wide so far. But it's supposed to be a good insulator and pretty much bullet proof." Taylor suddenly looked a lot younger as she smiled and showed off the little misshapen square of dull gray cloth.

"That is pretty cool. I think I saw that on a nature show that if you could mass manufacture that stuff, it would make kevlar look weak," Amy said with genuine interest.

"I think that's better than the stuff we manage to get from the PRT. But it's time for some real food and then we'll hang out for a bit."

"But I don't have a shirt to wear. The one I had has a cut in it," Taylor protested

"We planned ahead." Victoria pulled out a white T-shirt with a symbol of a fly on it from a messenger bag on her back.

"I am not going to wear a white costume." Taylor looked to be quite stubborn about that.

"Ooh. Daring, avant garde. I didn't know you had that in you, Taylor!" The blonde's smile was quite innocent.

So she responded the only way she could by throwing a pillow at her face. She wanted to call her dad to let him know she was getting out thanks to Panacea. And that they had invited her over.

* * *

Victoria landed with a tip tap just ten feet away from the door to a burger joint. Both Taylor and Amy were being held carefully by her under each arm. "I should probably practice more to carry two people," she murmured to herself.

"Vickie!" Amy exclaimed while glaring at her sister.

"I'm not sure I could get used to flying." Taylor looked slightly green around the edges.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough," the flyer said as she walked up and held the door for the other two.

"Dad wants a Double Hero large combo with the chocolate shake," Amy said as she checked her phone.

"Ah."

Taylor blinked at that, as that seemed rather lackluster compared to her normal gung-ho attitude of just a moment ago. Her own wallet was pretty empty after she double-checked. "I just want a Sidekick burger."

"Put that away. My treat," Amy said as she had spotted Taylor looking in her wallet.

"Oh, then maybe a small fry and a cola?" she said as she looked around. Were people taking pictureswith their phones?

"Single Hero combo with cola," Amy started her order with.

They were taking pictures.

"It works better when you ignore them. Otherwise them might walk up," Victoria said in a low voice.

"Oh? Okay." She was suddenly very, very conscious of the stupid white T-shirt with a bug logo on it as she started to stare forward across the counter.

Victoria just chuckled at that.

"-and that was to go," Amy finished up. "Thanks, Jim."

"No problem, ma'am." The young man turned to start bagging the items as they crossed over the back counter.

In just a few moments they were back in the air where Taylor was holding onto the drink carrier. It was barely a six hundred foot hop before they landed behind a tall privacy fence.

"Johnzie is back out front," Amy announced with a very disgusted tone.

"Who's that?" Taylor asked as she followed them through the very thick and heavy front door.

"The local cape paparazzi. Real scuzz bucket. We've got a restraining order on him, so he can't get closer than one hundred feet." Amy put the bag of fast food on the dining room table that had the clutter of lunch still on it. With a sigh, she snagged the frozen dinner plate to quickly clean off the table.

Taylor had a strange feeling as she watched the older man sitting on the couch. He did not look sloppy, per se. But just... rumpled as he stared at the TV. It looked like one of the History Channel's Parahuman Present's shows.

"Hey, dad? How was the game?" Victoria asked as she dumped her bulky and full messenger bag off to the side.

"Chile won over Spain, 2-0. Hi, Taylor! Nice to meet you again. You are looking much better," the father said somewhat cheerfully. Other than being slightly more muscular, he had the same thinning hair on top as her own father.

"Hello. Mark, right?" Taylor had read up everything she could on the family, so she at least knew their names and faces.

"So got any appearances planned?" Amy asked her father as she set out out everyone's fast food order.

"Just a few elementary schools." He gave a shrug. "I'll probably go for a patrol later. The dock area is really heating up between the ABB and Empire Eighty-Eight. I've been having good luck in the very early mornings."

"Who are you duoing with?" Victoria asked curiously.

"I figured I'd see if you, Sarah or Neil would be up for it," the older man said with a shrug. He grabbed one of the fries.

"What about mom?" Amy asked.

"Up to her neck in researching at her law office, but she said she'd be home by nine o'clock. She's trying to get a ruling to allow her to intervene in the prosecution of Sophia Hess, as Taylor here is now a member of New Wave. We're a non-profit organization, by the way," Mark explained. "She's seeing signs that someone wants this case closed and she hates a miscarriage of justice. She knows the judge and it's likely that will happen. She's also working to have charges pressed against the school, pretty much every one of Taylor's teachers for the last year and half and the other two girls. I think she might even be aiming at the district administration and up to the mayor's office if she can find a link. Probably going to be the biggest case in Brockton Bay this decade unless they finally capture Kaiser."

Victoria whistled appreciatively while Amy and Taylor gaped at him. "Mom's on the warpath. Heads will roll."

"Got that right, kiddo." Mark had finished half of his hamburger. "I've still got a twenty on me from earlier this week, so I'm going down to the corner store to buy a pack. Probably be back in about half an hour, okay? Don't forget it's a school night and I know you two have homework to do." He grabbed his chocolate shake as he stood up.

"Okay, dad," the girls called out.

Taylor was sitting there, her mind awhirl. "That's... a lot to take in. Is your mom really going to try and sue all those people?"

The blonde sister snorted at that. "Sue? Hell, no, she's going for criminal charges. She wants to see them behind bars and never allowed with fifty feet of any non-related children. I haven't seen her this activist and pissed off since we were about six or so. And we were too young to really understand everything then."

Amy nodded. "You're case and how it affected myself hit some of her buttons big time." She put her elbows on the table to hold up her head as she slumped forward.

"That is... I don't really have words for that. How can I ever repay you guys?" the bespectacled girl asked in shock.

"That's what heroes do. Or at least what they should do," Victoria said with a bit of her old cheer.

Taylor opened her mouth, trying to find the words. Desperately, she started to try to think of anything else, to change the subject. Because if this continued, she was going to break down crying. And she did not know if she would stop. Her mind caught onto the oddities since she entered the Dallon home. With a slight sniffle, she turned to Amy. "So, is that normal for your dad?"

Both girl just froze. Amy's eyes had widened a bit, then she sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. Dad's in a rough place ever since the state board of education banned him from teaching. And it's hard to get a job in this city. Even if you aren't a public hero."

"Oh, god. I shouldn't have opened my mouth-" Taylor started to say in a rapid, almost panicked manner.

"No. You need to know. He's diagnosed with depression. And it's not something Amy can fix," Victoria said softly.

"What did the specialist say when you consulted them them?" the bug-controller asked blithely.

Both girl just sat there a second. Amy was blinking rapidly while her sister just gaped.

"Amy?" her sister asked in a low tone.

"I never even thought of that. I mean, I've got an honorary medical certification because my powers allow me to fix just about anything, that I never even thought about just asking an expert. I-" The girl seemed to lose the power to speak.

"So it might work?" At her sister's muted nod, Victoria suddenly jumped to her feet and then swept Taylor into a hug and spun her around. "If this works, you have paid back everything and more! Right, Amy?"

"But I should have thought of this ages ago," Amy said in a horrified tone.

"That's the past! Fix it now for the future! That's what a hero does, makes things right!" Victoria said as finished spinning around and set Taylor back down.

"My ribs," Taylor said weekly.

"Oh, crap. Did I hurt her bad? God, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to hurt you." She seemed mortified.

"No, it was just tight. They don't really hurt that much," Taylor said even as Amy rolled her eyes and then touched her arm.

"She'll live, but it might have bruised. Watch your brute strength, She-Ra." Amy stuck out her tongue.

"Oh, I need to get home. I'm sure dad and I have a lot to talk about." Taylor knew she had enough for bus fare.

"All right, I'll give you a quick lift home on Glory Girl Airways. Let's go. Amy and I have things to plan."

They were soon flying through the air and blocks away when Taylor realized that she had forgotten her spiders in their box. "Wait!" They were in Victoria's messenger bag.

"What?" Victoria was suddenly looking around in just about every direction to try and spot an attacker.

"My spiders! They are back- at- the house?" Taylor eyes had lost direct focus as she realized something. She could feel insects off beyond her normal range.

"Oh, right. You startled me there. I thought that a villain was about to attack me. Don't do that." She huffed in annoyance, but zipped back.

* * *

That night, after a long talk with her dad, Taylor had her one spider climb out of the box where her project was located. It was the little spider that Amy had messed with earlier, that had given her a headache.

It was time to test a hypothesis with this little bad boy.


	6. School Fallout

"Up and at 'em, Taylor," Danny Hebert called out from the kitchen of their modest home.

"I'm up. I'm up!" Taylor closed her eyes as she checked on each of the four thousand and seventy-two eggs being guarded carefully. She was starting to feel the beginning of something in the eggs. She hoped she would be able to control them, they were about the size of a mite when born. Only another two weeks at the most.

And those she could not control because of their size.

Forty-five minutes later, she staggered back in the front door, sweat covering her body from her run. She was going to miss not being free from school.

"Hurry up, Taylor. We need to get to school to finish your paperwork. We'll pick up breakfast on the way," Danny called out. He was in his slightly ill fitting suit, nervously brushing his thinning hair.

"All right, dad!" she called out as she grabbed her change of clothes.

One fast shower and change of clothes. Taylor stared at herself in the foggy mirror. Long, curly black hair, expensive glasses. Lips that were too thin and her almost gaunt face. She had her best clothing on, even wearing a dress with tights on underneath. A little ladybug hair clip was added. Taylor was really not sure on this 'image idea' that New Wave had.

"Breakfast bowl?" she asked hopefully as she walked into the kitchen with her new backpack. She wondered if she was being silly for picking up the backpack with ladybugs on it.

"Sure. Traffic shouldn't be too bad quite yet, so we can hit Taco Brockbay on the way," Danny said as he grabbed his battered briefcase.

They were obviously a little lost when Danny finally found the visitor parking to Arcadia High School. Taylor was looking around, noting how terribly clean and new it all looked. She did notice that the front doors were heavier than expected, but balanced very carefully so you may not realize it was one thick piece of bulletproof glass rather to double-panes.

She was soon handed her syllabus and a map of the school, with the vice-principal escorting her to class. The hallways had filled with students. Instead of being totally ignored (or the even worse sneering laughter at times) kids her age were pointing and whispering.

"You still have a few minutes, but Mrs. Gebber should be in shortly." The woman gave a mock glare at one student. "And you treat her well, you little hooligan."

She actually stuck her tongue out. "Yes, mom! Come on and sit over here. Amy usually sits by us. You're Taylor, right?"

"Right. Um, nice to be here?" Taylor slid into the desk and chair, while putting her new backpack underneath. Tanisha was not Sophia. She could be a nice girl.

"Ladybugs? Is that a theme thing? Oh, I'm Tanisha," the dark skinned girl said.

"So the vice-principal is your mom? And Amy and Victoria think I should try to keep pretty bugs around me so people associate it with me? More than spiders, I guess. Spiders are much more useful. Ladybugs aren't going to be useful against the ABB or Empire Eighty-Eight." Taylor was frowning at that.

"I hadn't thought of it that way? You really want to get out there and fight?" Tanisha asked with raised eyebrows, showing her disbelief. "I mean Victoria is invulnerable, super-strong and can fly. You can control bugs."

"Well, I can control most of the bugs within several blocks of here. So I think I can be useful. I mean, not everyone is Alexandria. Or Legend. And I think we could all wish we had Eidolons power, don't you think? Any three powers. That would be awesome," Taylor said as she played with the possibilities in her head.

"Who's your favorite?" Tanisha asked curiously as more students entered the class at the last minute.

"Alexandria. I've got T-shirts and even a lunch box at home," Taylor said, her cheeks turning pink.

"What color?" the other girl asked curiously.

"The sky blue one? It's a bit beat up nowadays."

Tanisha blinked. "I have that one, too. Cool!"

"TAYLOR!" Victoria shouted out gleefully as she entered the room.

"Miss Dallon!" the teacher called out.

"Oops, sorry." She plunked down right next to Taylor.

Amy, quite quietly but still with a smile on her face, sat just behind her and Victoria and so was still very close.

"Um, what are the chances that I ended up in the same classes as you both?" Taylor asked.

"Pretty high, actually. Mom got the administration to agree to it as a security precaution for us kid New Wavers," Victoria said in a suddenly grim tone.

"Yeah, the school has been attacked twice by villains looking for revenge on kids in the Wards. That was in '09, right?" Amy said softly.

"The sad thing is he was not even there. He was out hunting the Kriss-Kut-Killer. One of the Wards that was here had to break cover to take him out. Then she and her family had to move out of state," the blonde sister said. "She was pretty cool, from what mom and dad said."

"Taylor? That thing you suggested? We're doing that tomorrow!" Amy said in an excited whisper.

"I hope that works," Taylor said with a genuinely wide smile.

The bell rang, starting her first school day at Arcadia High School.

* * *

"Are you coming over tonight? Mom and dad want to work on your self defense before you go on patrol with one of us," Victoria said as she put her messenger bag over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure how much that's going to help me," Taylor said a bit worriedly.

"It's not very fun. Mom has been running me through the ringer because I got hit so hard. And Sophia didn't even use powers," Amy said, sounding unhappy. This was not the sort of attention she wanted from her family.

They hit their lockers, with Victoria stopping Taylor from closing her door. "So what sort of mini-poster do you want in here?" she asked curiously.

Taylor raised both eyebrows in question. "What do you mean?"

"Johnny Depp? Or do you have a crush on any of the hunks in the Protectorate or Wards?" She leaned in, only to be interrupted by Amy.

"This is the part where she tells you how cool Gallant is and that she's just waiting for him to ask her out," the healer said with a sigh. This was starting to get annoying.

"Sheesh. Way to be the wet blanket," Victoria said in annoyance.

Taylor giggle for just a second. "I hadn't really thought it. I think the only Ward locally that really looks pretty built is Aegis, but I think Clockblocker might be fun to get to know."

Amy grinned. "He's very funny. And always willing to try and cheer you up."

"So some Wards posters. I'll have to introduce you some time so you can get them autographed," the haughty blonde said as she started to march out the main entrance.

It was quite nice and warming up, with only wisps of clouds in the air. There was an energy in the air. Spring was finally here and-

"Rodney Burton for CBS Brockton, Taylor Hebert. Do you mind if I ask some questions for the interview? Our viewers have a few questions only you can answer," a reporter said, holding out his microphone. "Nice to meet you again, Panacea. Glory Girl?"

"Hello, Mr. Burton. We can't really do interviews, but I suppose a few questions can't hurt," Victoria said as gave a victory sign.

"Sis," Amy hissed. "Remember Johnzie."

"He was a perv and he's got a restraining order."

Taylor really wanted to know more about that. But first the reporter. She had managed to avoid them after the hospital, though her dad had been a bit hounded. "I suppose?"

"I understand you were in the stressful altercation with Sophia Hess?" He smiled encouragingly at her, getting her to nod. "So what did it feel like when you nearly killed her?"

Taylor's emotions crashed down. "Wha-?" Her mouth was open as her chest felt constricted. "I just tried to stop her from attacking Amy!"

"So you are denying that you had your insects sting her over dozens of times? That your new friend Amy here didn't have to use her powers to heal her up?" the reporter said, going for the kill.

Back at the entrance, people were gathering.

"That's not fair," Amy cried. "Taylor is not trained in her power and-"

Rodney turned towards her as his cameraman focused on them both. Beads of sweat dotted hi receding forehead. "And it is true, Amy Dallon that this is not the first time that you've healed up the victim of your friends and family's brutality? I hear that over a dozen people owe you their life after your sister played too hard with them?"

Even more students and faculty were gathering. It was turning into a real crowd at the front door.

"I- I always try to keep everyone alive. I'm n-not covering up anything!" Amy stuttered out.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" Victoria shouted.

"Stop this!" Taylor shouted out even as her breathing had sped up.

"How many people would you have crippled, Glory Girl, if your sister had not fixed them up before the police showed up? I have police reports of arrested men complaining of vicious brutality? Do you have a temper problem, Glory Girl? I mean, you've got both of your lethal fists clenched?"

"We should leave," Taylor said quickly as she took a step back.

"Yes, we should-" Amy started to say, pulling on her sister's sleeve.

"Oh, right. Back to you, Taylor Hebert? Is it true that you were committed for a psychotic episode where you attacked a janitor, a teacher and several student? Are you a walking time bomb, just waiting for a trigger to lash out with your bugs and kill someone?" Rodney demanded in an accusing tone for the camera. "Just like you did to three girls at Winslow High-"

"I think I have some of my own questions, Mr. Burton?" Carol Dallon, the mother of Amy and Victoria, said as she pushed through the crowd. "Like if you were paid to do this terrible, slanderous attack on my children and their new friend? Or if you are just doing a favor for your old friend Alan Barnes from New York University?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Rodney said, suddenly on the defensive. "While we both went to NYU, we didn't interact much."

The superhero and lawyer just smiled. The smile of a predator. "Really? I mean, weren't you both initiated into the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the same time? And shared over 50 % of your freshman classes? And went to all the same parties?"

Taylor and the two girls were just staring in wide eyed shock. They were being whipsawed between the accusations.

"In fact, I have had some very interesting interviews with four women that were bullied into signing flimsy nondisclosure agreements that they would drop all charges of sexual harassment and accusations of date rape against you, with Mr. Alan Barnes as your legal advocate."

Burton's face went incredibly pale. "Ludicrous allegations!"

"Get the hell away from my family, Mr. Burton. Unless you can only attack innocent girls when they are unprepared? Or drugged?" Carol said in a cold voice. "I'm neither unprepared nor a little girl."

"Come on, Carlos. We need to get back to the studio to ready our interview," Burton said in an angry tone.

With that, the TV reporter and cameraman walked off quickly towards their news truck.

"Are you three all right?" Carol walked over and gave her daughters a quick, supportive hug. "I'm sorry I was late, but I was talking to a private detective who had just finished tracking down some of that information today." She turned and gave Taylor a quick hug, only to be surprised as Taylor latched on.

And then started sobbing. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't do what he said-"

"Of course not," Carol said as she patted the shorter girl's head.

"They were always so horrible, but I wanted to he a hero. Not be a bully like them," the girl sobbed into her chest.

Carol patted her for a few moments longer, then gently pushed her away. "Taylor, you are a hero. I am amazed that you had such self control to not attack them, even after what they did to you for months. You are a better person than they are, Taylor. And don't you forget it." She gently started to pull them away and down the sidewalk in the direction of her car. Everyone on the school grounds was giving them a wide berth, though a few teens were watching from the corner of the building.

Taylor sniffed, feeling her raw emotions had been sand blasted enough. "Why did he say all those mean things?"

"Because Alan Barnes is gunning for you, as his daughter and her friend Madison are being arrested as a member of Sophia 'gang'. And he wants to destroy your reputation before you can be brought up to any witness stand. And he is not going to succeed."

Victoria had let her head droop down as they came up to the car. "Mom. He was right. I did hurt a couple of guys. They just made me so mad and I... forgot to hold back. I don't think they would have died, but they were hurt bad."

Amy blinked at her sister. She would have never thought she would own up to that with their mother.

"That makes things a bit harder. You are going to have to go to anger counseling. And not lose your temper," the older woman said, sounding old all of a sudden. "You have too much of my own temper."

"I'm at fault, too," Amy said in a low, moody tone as she got into the back seat.

Carol almost made a joke to lighten the atmosphere, but stopped herself. Joking about hiding bodies right now probably wasn't the best idea. "Alan Barnes has a lot of contacts. People like that Rodney Burton, that he's got leverage on. I've been mapping out the people he could use like this and its not good at all. This is going to be the fight of our lives. But it's not going to be fought with fists or powers, but with cunning and the truth."

And recording everything that could be used in the court of public opinion. She needed to send the new recording from her wire over to her friends at the other two four major TV stations.

That did not seem to thrill the girls at all.


	7. A New Challenger Appears

Taylor was just pushing around her mac and cheese on her plate at the dinner table. Normally it was pretty good and one of her comfort foods, something her mom made. But after watching the news tonight, she was anything but hungry.

"You need to eat, Pumpkin. You stood up to Sophia and her girls, you can stand up to this guy. You're strong," Danny said he put his hand over her own.

The young girl made an unhappy face for a second. "It's just, he's telling the truth but making me look horrible. I mean, I did come out of my locker kicking, scratching and screaming. And I might have killed Sophia if Amy hadn't been there."

"But you are not and did not. You are my very heroic daughter. A daughter your mother would be very proud of," her father replied, breaking that taboo on mentioning his lost wife.

Taylor was starting to sniffle. She so did not want to cry. She was supposed to be a superhero now.

"And don't make me feed you like you were two again. I don't think I could handle all that choo-choo crap again," he said in sudden whimsey.

"Daaaad!" Taylor shouted out in mortification. "I'm fifteen!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "You did that on purpose."

"Don't knock it if it works," he said with a sad smile.

She smiled at that. "Yeah. If its stupid and it works... It's not stupid."

"Hey, are you calling your old man dumb?" he mock growled.

"I didn't have to." She took a big bite, suddenly realizing how hungry she really was.

* * *

Taylor got out of the car the next morning.

"Hey, Taylor!" a girl called out behind her.

"Oh, hey Tanisha," Taylor called back. "Bye Dad!"

Danny gave her a wave as he pulled out after dropping her off in front of the school.

"Saw that news last night. Hell, on all the stations. Carol Dallon is one scary lady. Totally blew those allegations wide open. Burton's channel tried to spin it by making the clips look worse, but the other channels didn't," the dark-skinned girl replied.

"I couldn't watch the news after the first ten minutes," Taylor admitted. "Other channels?"

"Mrs. Dallon had some sort of camera in her collar. You got amazing self control to not ever attack those bitches with your power. I so would have given them lice or the crabs."

"Oh. God. Everyone heard me sobbing out my life's story on TV?" Please, just let the ground suck her into the Earth's core.

"What are you saying? That was bitching! He was trying to portray you as some monster and you showed yourself to be so much better than them," Tanisha said with a wide, pearly smile.

"Um, really? Yay?"

They visited both of their lockers for the B day rotation, which was in gym first. Amy shared this class with her, but her sister was quite absent.

"Where's Victoria?" Taylor asked.

"She's not allowed to do any contact sports, as she's too strong." Amy did not sound happy to be here.

"What's wrong?" the bug-mistress asked as she finished tucking her T-shirt into her shorts.

"Hate gym class. It was always Sis's thing," the mousey girl grumbled.

"But, uh, isn't important to be in good shape in case you have an emergency?" Taylor was staring at the other girl, her eye blinking uncertainly.

"But I'm not a... combatant. You're going to make me run just as hard as you, aren't you?" Amy actually whimpered a bit.

Taylor nodded. "When does your dad go to his appointment?"

"After lunch, so you are going to be all alone with Victoria for the afternoon," she said in a sulky voice.

"The pain is good for you, telling you what your body can do. And the burning in the muscles heals them stronger," Taylor said absently.

Amy was not in good shape and it showed. She was surprised at the speed on the spindly girl. You could see the muscles corded under her tight skin. The healer in Amy wondered if her body to fat ratio was off? She had not asked her power to check that.

The rest of the school day was rather drab and boring, with Victoria being a bit twitchy as she tapped her toe for the last half hour of class.

The last bell rang and she was up in a flash. "Come on, Taylor! We need to get home quick. Mom and Dad were going straight there after talking to the specialist. I want to find out if it helped."

"Are we going to be out later than six?" Taylor asked worried as she trotted to keep with the blonde dynamo of energy.

"Probably not."

Five minutes later, Taylor realized she was used to getting used to being flown around by Victoria. "How normal things become," she muttered.

"What?" the blonde super heroine asked.

"I just realized I'm no longer terrified by flying around with you," Taylor admitted.

"Ha! You just wish you could fly, too!"

"That would be cool, but I'm pretty sure I can't find big enough bugs that are strong enough to fly around on. That would be awesome though," the other girl said wistfully.

"How's your costume coming along?" Victoria asked as she turned so her feet were a bit in front of her and ready to touch down on her front walk.

"Um, okay. I found a decent light-gray dye that I think will work fine for the body stocking. And that idea about looking up in a book for different weaves really helped. I wouldn't have thought about a frame to stretch it out on. The little guys can't make unlimited thread though. I've only got the lower body so far. Maybe another week for the whole part. Not sure how well the chiton plates are coming along-"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa. The spider silk thing I think I understand, but armor plates? You are starting to make me think you might be a very low level tinker, too."

Taylor's look carried a question.

"I actually have taken some Parahuman Studies classes, you know. Mom made Amy and I both take it, as it teaches you a lot about this stuff. Like how everyone swears they see something in their trigger, but can never remember it. And all the classifications. Also how people have small powers that sometimes get overlooked. Like your use of insects to make stuff is exactly like the example of a Tinker 1."

"Um, really? I kind of thought I was only a Master and not that high? I mean... bugs." Taylor didn't think it was all that good.

"You are probably more powerful than you think. If I wasn't invulnerable, I'd be in real trouble. And I bet you could blind and confuse me pretty good, even if you couldn't hurt me," Victoria said. "We should spar a bit. You and that stick and bugs and me just being awesome!"

"I'm just starting to figure out how to fight. I haven't thrown a punch in anger since grade school," Taylor protested.

"You aren't going to pacifist like Amy, are you?" the blonde asked suspiciously.

"Vickie!" the girl in question said as she flung open the door the rest of the way. "That's mean."

"You took out Shadow Stalker with one touch. You would probably be more powerful than I am." Taylor felt around with her 'bug sense'.

"She's got a point. I mean, if you got a hand on me you could probably do one of those KO things to me too. Or just about anyone," Victoria said with a grin at her sibling.

Amy blinked, as if that had never occurred to her. "I'm not sure I would like that." Her expression was very troubled there.

The slightly older girl grabbed the shorter girl in a headlock and scuffed up her brown hair. "Hero. You totally saved Taylor's life. Of course, she did a good job of helping you too. We should team you up together. You'd probably clean up the Empire Eighty-Eight in a week," she called out in a ribald tone.

"Quit messing up my hair," Amy complained.

"Well, I get the feeling my power work best if I'm way, way out of sight. In fact, thanks to Amy I might be able to be really out of sight," Taylor said with a small grin, though she filed Amy's comment away for further thought.

"Huh?" Victoria said.

"That spider you messed with? Something about it was different. I can use it to boost my range by like about almost twice as far. If I get enough of them, I might be able to actually cover a big section of the city."

Amy's mouth had dropped open. "All I was doing was playing with the little bit of the bug's nervous system that your power was connecting to. I guess I must have left it a little extra big. And it doubled your distance?"

Both girls look suitably impressed. Victoria, on the other hand, noted that Amy said she messed with its brain. She had always said that brains were off limits... There was a private talk that needed to happen, Victoria suddenly decided. It had not ever made perfect sense, as she sort of remembered that that the spine was nearly as complicated as the brain and Amy would fix anything wrong with that in a heartbeat.

"I just wish I could see through their eyes. Right after I triggered, I did but it was too overwhelming and weird. Like trying to see out of a thousands of views all at one time." Taylor was kind of upset about that. What use was controlling bugs across the city if she had to be able to see the area to control?

"Why are you trying to see out of that many eyes? We only have two eyes, miss Four-Eyes," Victoria said while making her hands into faux-glasses to cover her own eyes as a joke.

Taylor opened her mouth and then closed it multiple times. "Is that you felt like when I asked an obvious question?" she asked Amy.

"Probably," the other girl replied.

Taylor closed her eyes and summoned several flies. She had them line up in a row on her flat hand. "Weird... I can see a vague shape when I add their vision up slowly." She sent the flies to go behind them, in formation to keep their view together as 'one eye' for her. "It's not really very good, but I can tell the two of your apart. Sorta. I really feel stupid now."

"That was me a few hours ago. You know how my power just tells me how to fix things? I need to test it, because it misses things that are subtle. The specialist and I talked about a lot of things from dad's blood test. And while I can't mess with brains, I can help with everything else. And the everything else? That's actually Dad's problem. A bit of a chemical imbalance which I can adjust easily. We only made a small change, but it might make a bit change already. And some behavior. So we're supposed to make him go out and do something, even if it is just volunteering or helping Mom at her job."

"No... shit? Really? He's going to be better?" Victoria was suddenly much younger looking. "I was so right. So we are going to be the Terrific Trio of New Wave. A sub team that is going to kick so much ass that we will make even Eidolon, Alexandria and Legend look up at us in awe. Are you ready to become the coolest heroes ever?"

"I really don't think I'm ever going to be cool," Taylor said as she pushed back up her glasses on her nose.

"Ha, most of the recent fan mail is all about you. Of course, so is the hate mail. And I had no idea mom was wearing a wire. I so would have stopped you from sobbing on the lens," Victoria said as she swept them up into a hug.

"Watch your strength. Both of them aren't that strong," Carol said, her arm around her husband how was smiling more happily than they had seen in a long, long time. She had just stepped through the front porch door with her husband.

Mark nodded. "You look pretty happy there," he noted.

"That's where you are wrong, Mom. They just are strong in other ways. Say, can we be a sub team? I mean, it wouldn't be breaking up New Wave, right?"

"There are literally dozens of Protectorate and Wards teams. I think we can work on you guys making your own team, too. Maybe we can poach that Gallant boy you are so enamored with?" Carol asked with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Mooooom!"

* * *

"Goggles?" Amy asked as she flopped onto Taylor's bed. Half-filled boxes cluttered the room.

"Either goggles with lenses or contact lenses." Taylor was holding up her mask with the two lenses of her swimming goggles. She thought the contact lenses fit her 'bug' theme.

"Taylor, come over here a second." Amy patted the mattress next to her absently.

"Um, okay." This was not awkward. Nope. Not at all. Taylor thumped down on her bed.

Amy put hand on Taylor's cheek then started staring at her eyes. Not that she actually needed to, but it helped her concentrate. The shorter girl then took off Taylor's glasses. "How's that?" She desperately tried to fight down her blush.

"How's what- Whoa." Taylor's brown eyes were very wide as she looked around. "Everything is crystal clear. That's amazing."

"You're welcome," Amy said with a roll of her eyes.

"Sorry! Thank you! Thank you!" Taylor felt like a heel for not saying it first.

The shorter girl bumped her shoulder against Taylors. "I should have done this weeks ago."

"So I just need to add the goggles. Don't even have to wait to buy more lenses." Taylor held her mask up and pushed the lenses into place. Spider's swarmed out of the corners and from under the bed, making sure to leave a wide berth around Amy in consideration.

"That's a lot of spiders for one bedroom," Amy said a little uncomfortably.

"They're here to nanny the eggs." Taylor's mind touched the not quite formed mind. She was pretty sure that she could control at least half of them if they hatched. They were right on the edge of how small she could control.

Eggs? Amy wondered.

The spiders on her lap were swarming over her mask, starting to weave the goggles into place. And it really only took about a minute to attach.

"And that's it. My costume is done." Taylor could not believe it.

"Well, let's see it. Come on," Amy pleaded.

Just a bit self consciously, Taylor skinned out of her jeans and T-shirt, then started to pull up the body stocking. The mask pulled up over her face, turning the view yellow. The chitin plates down the front and back seemed to flex. The hidden panels allowed her to carry important things. A small clip of money, the E-pen for someone if they had an allergic reaction, pepper-spray (a larger, more professional bottle that Carol had given her) and then the extendable baton. She even knew how to use it.

"So, um, what do you think?"

"Kind of spooky, but I think you got it perfect. Can you stretch in that?" Amy asked with slightly wide eyes.

The new heroine nodded as she crouched down and stretched a bit, then as she stood back up, she twisted to show that her armor didn't hinder her much.

"I even add the heavier chitin along the knuckles at Victoria's suggestion. I didn't realize how much punching someone hurts," Taylor said.

"Did you decide on a name?" the other girl asked.

"I think Weaver works. I've even started to figure some tactics that will work with it-!?" the now-named Weaver was saying when she suddenly stopped and looked toward the empty side of the bed. "They're hatching." She needed food for the baby insects. Luckily she had planned and had tiny bugs that even the infant black widows could eat gathered up. Spiders and insects quickly gathered up the thousands of 'meals' for her spiders.

"Whoa! That's lot of insects. What's hatching?" Amy asked

"My black widows. I needed more for making a spare costume and I figured out how to get them to breed up." Not quite a lie, as she was going to use them for that, too. She could only control about two thirds of the spiders, the others were attempting to eat all the others until the adult spiders and insects intervened, separating them and feeding them. Four of the baby spiders were being fed a huge meal for their size even as they were placed on the backs of large flies and flown out the small crack by the window.

Amy whistled. "Why do you need so many though?"

"Well, I wanted to make you guys some costumes. I mean, Glory Girl doesn't need it, but a bulletproof stocking for the rest of the New Wave would be useful, right?"

She nodded slowly back. With a sigh, she asked, "Could you make me one? I've been thinking that I need to change how I operate." She reached over to her duffel bag. "I've even got an under costume with some padding like dad's." And an extendable staff that she could use to block some attacks. She pulled out a very light-gray outfit with her red crosses on the front and back, along with on each shoulder.

"Why the change of heart?" Weaver asked curiously as she handled keeping all of her baby black widows alive. Hmm, they weren't extending her range yet. Maybe she had to wait until the matured more?

"Sophia nearly beating me into unconsciousness was sort of a wake up. And then you pushed me in gym and mom's actually be making me practice self defense again." She swallowed hard. "And I hate waiting to find out if I need to go and heal up someone. People I know or that I care about that got hurt being heroes. But if I was there I could heal them right now. But if I'm out there, I'm a target, too."

"So you have to fight. And you don't want to depend on your power. I guess. I'm probably going to be better at range and tracking anyways. Might be able to tie up people, but bugs are kind of... indiscriminate, really," Weaver said. She blinked her eyes behind her goggles as she looked at the bag. "Hey, Amy?"

"Yeah?" the mousy girl replied absently.

"How about we call Victoria to come here so we can go on patrol tonight?"

Amy froze as she parsed what Weaver was saying. "Tonight?"

"Just against regular thugs, if we can help it. But yeah. Maybe I'm not perfectly ready, but I think I'm ready enough," Weaver said as she clenched her fist.

"New Wave, second generation? We should probably invited Laserdream and Shielder, too." Amy suddenly smiled. "Yeah, let's do this."


	8. Merchants Miserly

Twok. The last member of the Merchants crossed his eyes at the hard, raton wood that had hit his forehead. He staggered back two steps and tripped over a small force field from the only boy on New Wave's side; Shielder. With a cry, the thug landed on his ass.

Panacea spun her staff back to her her standard defense position. She really needed to get a better helmet, but the padded boxing helmet would work for now.

"You could just surrender, you know," Glory Girl said as she floating into the air in front of him.

"God damn it. Just not fucking fair. Why don't you go pick on someone with powers?" the snaggle-toothed vagrant demanded.

"Sorry, we are not going to let you rob people just because we happen to have powers," Weaver said as she walked over.

Laserdream landed on the ground even as she kept an eye out for reinforcements. "We have power to act responsibly, parahumans or not," she said in a well practiced voice.

"Laserdream," Shielder said in an aggravated tone. "We're doing this because we don't want Mom hovering over us."

"Er, sorry Shielder," his older sister said.

Weaver snorted and then giggled. "You want me to call it in, guys?"

Glory Girl gave her a thumbs up as they other two nodded.

She pulled out her cell phone and then called 911, giving the information for the regular police. The bug controller did have the whole area filled (lightly) with bugs just in case. So she was the first to notice that someone crept to the edge and was watching them from the rooftop above. Bugs lined up on the wall. "Shielder? Can I get a bit of light over there? I think one of their weapons went flying and hit the wall.

The light on the wall showed her bugs forming the words _'SOMEONE ON THE ROOF'._ And a big arrow pointing up and at an angle.

"Thanks," Weaver said as she walked over to 'look' for the weapon.

Glory Girl stretched and yawned. With her one hand hidden from the roof, counted down from three. She and Laserdream burst into action. Laserdream blasted out with both hand in a one two combination. The woman in white on the roof shielded her eyes. The blast missed, but the glowing forcefield from her and Shielder encased the stalker from neck to toe.

The brute of the group put her hand by her shoulder and pulled back her right hand in a fist, still in the air. "So, who are you? And what sort of cape doesn't wear a mask?" Glory Girl asked, the threat of knocking her head off very palpable.

"I normally don't need a mask. Shit. All I was doing was watching. How did you spot me?" the older woman asked.

"Name first. Hero name, I mean. I don't care about your civvie name," Glory Girl said, her fist still pulled back.

The brown-haired woman looked upset and almost refused, but finally relented. "Purity."

"You're that villain that's been trying to be a hero, right?" The flying girl looked down. "You can let her go. She says she's Purity."

Laserdream and Shielder shared a look, then with a shrug let the glowing force fade away.

Purity immediately took a step back. "All I was doing was seeing what you were doing. Kid stuff, just beating up some druggies."

"Give us a lift, Shielder?" Weaver asked as she walked to the edge.

"Um, I'm not a good flyer," the younger boy said.

"Your forcefields are top notch though, right?" the bug controller asked. "Have you tried lifting with them?"

"Oh, right. I hadn't thought of that." He created disk for them to stand on.

Panacea had a grin on her face. "You'll get used to it, but she does this all the time to figure out more uses of powers. If you think of something for her bugs to do, shoot it right back at her."

Shielder gave her a grin. "Sure. I just wish I could get better at flying, but even with all the practice I put in, it's just not improving."

Weaver was looking over the edge as they rose up like an elevator. "Might want to split the time doing things like this or figuring the best way to get the most out of your power you are good at?"

"Hmm." Shielder seemed to be considering that seriously.

"Weaver, you have that spare mask in your pack?" Glory Girl asked.

Purity raised her eyebrow at that. "Actually, I was wondering why she wore a mask if everyone knows who she is?"

"I wanted to. I'm kind of hoping that most people forget what I look like. And Glory Girl mentioned we might need it for one of the Wards or Protectorates. Unlike those two ego-maniacs who love to get their faces in the news," Weaver said, jerking her thumb at Glory Girl and Laserdream.

"Weaver, master of bugs and understatement," Panacea said in a deadpan voice in a perfectly serious manner.

"Ouch. Shot through the heart," Laserdream said as she fake-swooned by holding her hands over her heart.

That got a snort out of Purity as she pulled on the basic gray half-mask. "Were you a girl scout?"

Weaver just shook her head. "It just seemed common sense once it was mentioned. I asked for Panacea's advice on other things." Like a wallet, a knife and her baton.

Purity raised her eyebrows again. "I thought you were a pacifist?"

"Pacifism nearly got all my ribs broken and my face flattened," the girl replied as she looked at the ground. "Besides, the faster I can get to someone, the better I can heal them. This is just basically for self defense."

"Isn't it pretty hard to go solo?" Weaver asked as she dredged up the information on the reclusive (and normally glowing) superheroine.

"I parted on semi-friendly terms with the Empire Eighty-Eight, but my old team isn't willing to try." Purity sighed in frustration. "And it doesn't help that the reporters keep trumpeting up that I won't attack the Eighty-Eight, so I must be racist, too."

"Well, you could take on the Merchants or that secretive group, the Unsiders," Laserdream noted.

"Undersiders? They're a teen group, I've heard. Or at least mostly teens," Purity explained. "Kind of like you guys."

"So, should we team up to clean up the Merchants? I mean, they aren't racially biased and half of them are white? We've already done the misunderstanding fight so we might as well go whole hog and do an actual team up? Unless _you_ want to join too?" Glory Girl asked with a grin on her face.

"Sorry, I like my secret ID. I've got family and friends," Purity replied in a cold, hard tone.

"You can keep your mask and ID. Everyone knows that the New Wave movement is pretty much dead, so masks are okay. I mean, look at Weaver, she's got the goggle-whole-face thing going," Glory Girl said, while still grinning.

"You mean... you don't even _want_ to know my real name?" Purity looked a bit stunned at that pronouncement.

"Trust is earned, not demanded," Shielder said in a tone of voice that showed _his belief_ in that even as a young teen.

Purity blinked as she looked at the five teens. She responded after a long minute of thought. "I'm not going to say yes. But I am going to say maybe. Don't you guys usually have one of the adults along?" she said, changing the subject.

"We're going to be a new New Wave team. Our parents are going to be the original," Panacea said in a soft voice.

"Really? Huh." Purity did look pretty surprised at the pronouncement. "So, what do you know about the Merchants?"

"They get pushed around a lot, as they are the weakest gang in the area, but they are mostly down by the docks," Laserdream said. "Weaver here thinks she has a good idea to find them."

"Bugs?"

"They know what the different drugs 'taste' like to stay away. So if we find a fairly large stash down there," Weaver explained.

"-it's going to be them. Think you guys are ready to take them down?" Purity asked with a happy smile on her face.

The answering grins were all she needed to get their response.

* * *

Sophia Hess finished her curls, breathing evenly and strong as she let the rubber coated dumbbell.

"Hess! You have a visitor!" one of the guards called out. She was a sturdy looking woman that eyed her warily.

"My lawyer again?" she asked in a dismissive tone.

"Yeah, probably some news on your new trial. Move it 'villain'. We've got normal criminals to deal with today, too," the guard said in a harsh, condescending manner.

"Fuck you right back," Sophia said with a bit of anger. She'd be prey if she wasn't wearing her electric cuffs. Damn fucking pigs.

She was cuffed and led through several checkpoints and into the glass partitioned room. "Yo, Doug."

"Miss Hess. I would love to say that just get these ludicrous charge dropped, but Mrs. Dallon is being quite the thorn. You friend's father hasn't helped much. His slander campaign blew up rather spectacularly in his face," Douglas Janson explained as he flipped open his briefcase and started to pull out papers.

"So there's nothing we can do?" the angry teen asked.

"Oh, we are doing quite a bit. More than I thought would be possible. The problem is that to 'defend' his daughter against charges of being in your gang, he's raised the possibility that you have some sort of sub-power that messes with people. Totally hogwash, but I don't want you saying yes to anyone suggesting you have more to your powers than you thought. Okay?"

Typical lawyer advice, Sophia thought. She frowned. "How the hell do they verify crap like that?"

"Thinkers, for the most part. Psychologists. Really, it's a bunch of hokey bullshit. No way they could use that," Douglas explained confidently.

Sophia was staring past her lawyer blankly. "What if they are right?" She had a cold pit in her stomach. Emma had been that bitches' best friend for years. "What if I didn't know that I could cause someone to change that much because of a Stranger power or some bullshit to do that, uh, Stockholm syndrome?"

Douglas blinked. "Why do you think that?"

"Because Emma was _her_ best friend since before grade school. And getting Emma to become my best friend instead was easy. Yeah. It might be possible." Huh, he could actually get more pale, Sophia realized.

"Well, we're going to fight it until they have proof," he replied as he frowned. "Don't breathe a word of this."

The next five minutes was tense, but the bully's face was flat as she considered matters. She hardly even responded to the guards as she was led back to her cell. She stared blankly at the wall across from her bed.

Her beliefs that had changed people around her were probably...

...not real.

And that made her take a long, hard look at herself.

* * *

Squealer pulled out a caliper to measure the exact distance she needed on her engine adjustment. She waved her hand to knock some bugs away, not even thinking twice about them.

The crunch on the gritty debris on the floor of her 'garage' warned her that someone was walking up. Squealer had her hammer out and starting to pound a dent out of the panel she was working and her caliper disappeared back into the tool box.

She had a reputation to defend as a 'rough-tumble' Tinker, not an egghead. Her hand was shaking just a little bit once her guard wandered off.

That was when the bugs that had been gathering on the ceiling dropped on her like a liquid wave. Glory Girl smashed in the wood door to the office area of the abandoned warehouse, followed in by Laserdream and Shielder how started to stun the unprepared thugs. Panacea and Weaver were behind them, keeping a watch for people sneaking up behind them.

Purity just entered by blasting the main doors (and most of the walls that had been attached to it) to small chunks. Her glowing white eyes blinked as she looked on as Squealer tried wading through the piles of insect.

"Not fuckin' fair! Let me get into my trash-tank and I'll give you a real damn fight," Squealer was shouting for anyone to hear. The glow above her made her pause on trying to remove the insects in the cockpit. "Oh."

Purity held out her hand, ready to blast. "Surrender? Or you are in for a _lot_ of pain."

All Squealer said for about thirty seconds would make an old time sailor blush. The increased glowing coming from Purity chopped that off.

"Drop all your tools," Purity said.

"Sure. Fine. Whatever. Bitch. What's the Empire doing starting a turf war?" the Tinker said as she divested herself of items.

"I'm not _with _the Empire Eighty-Eight anymore," Purity said angrily.

"She's still got three devices on her," Weaver called out as she came into the workshop area. She was pulling out cop-issue style zip-ties.

"Shit. Damn bugs. You've been watching us for hours," the Tinker said as she realized what was going on. "Why did you hit here?" She dropped her last three devices onto the pile.

"The sacks of drugs hidden under that tank, of course," Purity said with a smile in her voice.

"Skidmark is going to be pissed," Squealer said to herself.

"We've got the rest tied up," Glory Girl called out. "PRT and the regular police are on their way. You going to wait a bit for them?" She started zip-tying Sqealer's arms behind her.

"They still have a warrant out for my arrest," Purity reminded them.

"There _is_ hole in the ceiling to fly out of," Weaver said as she thought things through. Squealer was an idiot, she realized. All she had to do was think of visualizing her solution in vehicle form. Like advanced drug labs in the back of trucks or emergency medical help like a super-ambulance.

"I'll hurt you guys with the backblast of my power. That's why I jump off buildings," Purity explained. Her thoughts were distracted from that first jump before she had the power of flight.

"Forcefield on the ground?" Shielder asked. "That should cover that problem, I think."

Purity blinked, then landed and let her power drop. "I guess I can do that. Why are you doing this for me?" She would have to keep using the loaner mask temporarily.

"It'd be kind of silly to let them arrest our next prospective member," Laserdream said, then giggled.

"Can we recruit another guy? We're like the opposite of the Wards team. They have too many guys," Shielder complained.

That got a laugh out of them all.


End file.
